Panosaukio Housing, 1995
Kivikko, Helsinki
Panosaukio Housing started late 1980’s as a part of a larger town planning project, Kivikko, an extension of Kontula Suburb in north west Helsinki. Most of the area had previously been shooting tracks. Several architects were asked to study different places. Our commission included two lowest sites – and lead to this implementation of social housing on the eastern one. The western site has later been built more conventionally.
In Panosaukio Housing we used four different building typologies, each with different hybrid solutions. There are twelve block of flats, each having two or three floors. Each type exploits location and terrain of its own.
The Terrace Houses on the east side are the tallest. They form a terraced wall between street and one floor lower courtyard. Each apartment has a ground-bound entrance. On the ground floor the apartments are narrow and one-sided, the underground side houses storages. Most of the street level apartments have two floors and they elevate over the smaller flats at the ends. The common spaces like sauna and laundry are also down by the courtyard. There are small commercial premises by the Panosaukio-square.
The Cruiser Houses lie across the slope and are connected to the local pedestrian path with bridges. They are combined split-level single stair solutions with some roof terrace flats and an independent two floor semi detached apartment. The high skylight of the stairway together with the building silhouette lead to the nickname “Ruotsinlaiva” (referring to the Baltic Sea ferries).
The Six-pack Houses are in the mid courtyard. They have two floors and six ground-bound flats together – the smaller ones on top of each other. Special attention has been paid to opening views and privacy of each apartment. This is not the first time for the Six-pack, first time was Perhekunnantie Social Housing.
The Small Wall Houses extend the street side wall form to the north side. They are elementary ground-bound buildings with row-house apartments in the middle and small ones one on top of the other at the ends.
